Vest Financial LLC Sells 100,337 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Vest Financial LLC lowered its holdings in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 604,185 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 100,337 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Walmart were worth $53,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Walmart by 1,007.7% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC now owns 288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new stake in Walmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company's stock.

Walmart Trading Down 0.5%

WMT traded down $0.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $97.46. 15,583,112 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,900,703. The firm has a market capitalization of $779.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.71 and a 200 day moving average of $93.84. Walmart Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.64 and a 12-month high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $165.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.53 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Walmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a yield of 0.95%. Walmart's payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walmart news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.63, for a total value of $2,493,888.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,972,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,166,630.71. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn J. Mclay sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.95, for a total transaction of $343,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 888,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,350,158.55. This trade represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,534 shares of company stock worth $12,833,664. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WMT. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Walmart in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Walmart from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.16.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.